The Uruguay international got away from the Blues midfielder to nod home at the far post in the 73rd minute following Jamie Carragher's flick on, cancelling out John Terry's opener.

Di Matteo, who saw his skipper stretchered off prior to the interval following an accidental collision with Suarez with a knee injury that requires an MRI scan on Monday morning, felt his players had otherwise shackled the Reds' danger-man well.

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He said: "Carragher flicked it on and then Ramires got a little push from Suarez just to get free - he was with him - it just created a bit of space for him.

"I thought during the game we didn't allow him (Suarez) to do anything and it's a shame because we really deserved to win this game. He is a goalscorer and he has got this instinct and he showed that again."

Di Matteo admitted his side were made to pay for their failure to take a number of chances to put the result beyond doubt, with Juan Mata guilty of blazing over the bar just before the interval.

"We controlled the game and had chances for a second goal and that is probably a disappointment, 1-0 is always dangerous," he added. "We needed to score a second one.

"He (Reds goalkeeper Brad Jones) made some very good saves and also some misses from us. We had a fabulous chance just before half-time from Mata.

"We knew we needed a second goal and pushed it in the second half and we needed to take it."